Why You Should Road Trip Through Mexico

Even for those who have visited many times, Mexico can seem a patchwork; a collection of be-muraled ancient towns, sleepy seaside villages, and ever-busier cities that share the same country. Mexico is geographically large, culturally diverse, and has a depth of history that’s difficult to reconcile when you fly from one interesting spot to another. Sure, it’s faster, but you miss the in-between, the glue, the context, when you leapfrog about the country on planes. If you want to sew Mexico’s glorious diversity of places together, a roadtrip is in order.

For years, driving Mexico's highways was deemed unsafe due to bandits and slow due to village-crossings (and their concomitant—and annoying—speed bumps). But serious improvements have been made to the country's infrastructure over the last decade, including toll roads and private highways—both of which are police-patrolled. On a recent drive from San Miguel de Allende, smack-dab in the center of the country, to Punta Mita on the western coast, we had nothing but incredible views, fun snack stops, and hours to contemplate the expansive landscape. Here's what you need to know about taking a drive of your own.

Begin: San Miguel de Allende

This city is popular with expats and visitors for a reason: its Neoclassical and Baroque buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries are kept in such fine condition that the historic city center was declared a World Heritage site in 2008. It’s a flaneur’s dream of cobblestone streets, and the shopping—for textiles and art you actually want to bring home—is legendary. There’s even a delightful farmers market with all kinds of fresh, seasonal produce, natural bath products and prepared foods, which we packed into our rental car for snacks. We need not have been so well-prepared—Mexican road food was a treat.

Where to stay

Airbnb rentals abound in this walkable city, and there’s an embarrassment of riches when it comes to choosing your style of accommodation. From teensy cathedral-view rooms to whole homes, my partner and I split the difference with a super-private two-floor apartment in a home in one of the oldest areas of the city. With a bougainvillea-draped outdoor kitchen-patio that we actually cooked in, and a multi-windowed rooftop aerie of a bedroom with views of the entire town (plus and meticulously landscaped gardens), it was romantic and convenient—our host Heather had lived there for decades and was beyond helpful when it came to directions, suggestions, and local history.

Where to stop

Visit Café de la Mancha for coffee on your way out of town. This tiny, dog-friendly coffee shop is run by Paloma and Christian, who attended coffee school in Mexico City, so it has everything a java snob could desire: think pour-over to siphon, cold brew, and espresso drinks (as well as chais, herbal teas, and small plates).

Drive to Ajijic

Head west out of the gates of the town, hit the roundabout, and make your way south onto route 51 and then west onto 45D. In Mexico, a D indicates a toll roadway, and we found they are generally similar in cost to East Coast American toll roads (ie. not cheap)—though they tend to be less well-traveled, very fast, quite newly paved, and not subject to very slow cars, speed bumps, and human and livestock crossings that can slow you down on the free main roads. But don’t worry, you’ll get a taste of those slower roads too, and they have charms of their own, like incredibly inexpensive fresh produce: When we road-tripped in the spring it was strawberry season. We soaked produce in a germ-killing solution and gorged away on the fruit.

What to do

This small town in the state of Jalisco sits right on Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest freshwater lake, and Ajijic's identity is tied to its fishing culture, with plenty of great restaurants that serve locally caught tilapia. Wander the brightly muraled streets—with both realistic and tongue-in-cheek water-creatures a popular motif—down to the lovely lakeside promenade and watch the sun set over this 700-acre lake you never knew existed.

Where to stay

A former seminary replete with petite chapel on the premises, the Hacienda on the Hill in Ajijic is a terribly romantic, 200+ year-old collection of buildings 10 minutes’ walk uphill from the town’s lakeside main streets—which equaled a commanding view from the pool deck and lower-priced bedrooms downstairs. A hike into the hills behind the hacienda is a great workout, and there are stations of the cross at which to make offerings along the trail and an open-air chapel at the top—and of course, even better views of the lake.

Punta Mita

Photo by Starre Vartan

Drive to Punta Mita

Leave town and cruise along the shores of Lake Chapala on route 23, then follow routes 80 and then 70 west towards the coast. Climb into the Sierra Madre mountains on route 544, which will loom ahead of you for an hour before you reach them. Once you’re in the high desert, motor though acres of agave fields, mountain peaks dropped behind them like a stage set, and surprising terrain which reminded me most of Oregon’s high desert. Don’t forget to stop at both local roadside stands for tacos and fruit and gas up at American-style filling stations (which usually featured local foods, not chain restaurants). Gas is frequently available, but stations aren’t quite as numerous as in the U.S.: We never went lower than a quarter of a tank before refilling.

What to do:

You’ll smell the ocean before you see it: When you arrive in Punta Mita, on the coast, after descending rapidly from the lush mountains now at your back, it will feel like you’ve entered another world, but you’ll know from the previous hours’ drive how plains morph into high desert, mountain peaks, and then the green tropical forests that buffer the coast behind the Puerto Vallarta area. In the nine-hour drive across half of Mexico from San Miguel’s interior city to Lake Chapala’s freshwater beauty, to the coast, you can’t help but see how previously disparate Mexican spots are all connected.